WWF, WCW Wrestle TV Critics

Pasadena, Calif. -- Officials from the World WrestlingFederation and World Championship Wrestling tried to win over their critics here recently-- television critics, that is. But it was tough going.

With wrestling being one of cable's biggest ratingsdraws these days, USA Network and Turner Network Television -- along with TNT'ssister network, TBS Superstation -- had officials from their respective leagues and someof their star wrestlers appear at the Television Critics Association winter tour here lastmonth.

The message that both camps tried to convey was the same:Wrestling is meant to be entertainment, not sports, making the question of whether or notit is "fake" irrelevant.

USA's session started out cordial, with Vince McMahon-- chairman of TitanSports Inc., which owns the WWF -- trying to explain what makeswrestling click with viewers.

"The World Wrestling Federation is not aboutwrestling," he said. "It is action-adventure. It's a soap opera. There areelements of sitcom in the WWF."

At the TCA, the WWF also ran a tape of the commercial thatit was set to run on the Fox Network during the third quarter of this past Sunday'sSuper Bowl game, depicting mayhem at WWF headquarters in a tongue-in-cheek self-parody.

WCW made its own pitch to the critics during TNT'spresentation. WCW president Eric Bischoff -- on a panel with wrestlers "Sting"and Bill Goldberg -- told the TV writers, "One of the things that I've tried toget people within our industry to understand is that we're not fake sports --we're real entertainment."

Added Goldberg, "I'm here to tell you thatthere's nothing about this sport that is fake. Predetermined, yes, Fake, no."

But like Gary Hart inviting reporters to trail him -- tohis later chagrin -- the WWF seemed to have committed a gaffe when it told writers not tohold back and "to smack us right between the eyes " with questions.

When one critic asked the wrestlers if they had ever used"performance-enhancing drugs," things got testy.

Austin snapped back, "Whether I have or Ihaven't, I really don't see what difference it makes." Then McMahon chimedin and told the critic, "And probably none of your business, quite frankly."